UPDATE: Power restored to nearly all customers after storm

By WEAU 13 News Staff&nbsp|&nbsp

Posted: Thu 8:50 AM, May 02, 2013&nbsp|&nbsp

Updated: Fri 9:35 PM, May 03, 2013

EAU CLAIRE, Wis. (WEAU) - As of 9 p.m. on Friday night, Xcel Energy says all of the customers in Menomonie have power again and a small pocket of customers on Eau Claire's south side still had no power. Xcel had to bring in a special piece of equipment to restore power in the area around Halsey.

Xcel says it hopes to have power up and running to everyone by late Friday night.----------------------------------------------------EAU CLAIRE, Wis. (WEAU) - Crews in Xcel Energy's Northwestern Wisconsin service area are finishing up the job of restoring power to customers affected by snow-related outages.

A company spokesman says fewer than 1,000 customers are still without power, mostly in the Menomonie area. Many will likely have power service restored by Friday night.

At the height of the outage, nearly 40,000 customers lost power as heavy, wet snow took down trees and power lines Thursday.

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EAU CLAIRE, Wis. (XCEL ENERGY NEWS RELEASE) -- As of 6 p.m., more than 80 percent of the customers affected by today's snow storm have been restored to service. With snow continuing in some areas and additional outages in the afternoon the number of customers in western and northern Wisconsin and southeastern Minnesota affected by today's storm increased to about 60,000. In Wisconsin, about 6,400 Xcel Energy customers remain without service.

A total of approximately 330 field crews (lineman, troubleman) were working restore service in the affected area in the two states.

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EAU CLAIRE, Wis. (XCEL ENERGY NEWS RELEASE)--Xcel Energy crews have restored service to more than half of the customers who experienced outages from today’s snow storm. Currently, there are 13,000 Xcel Energy customers in Wisconsin without power. The number of customers affected by the storm in Wisconsin is now 30,000. Including southeastern Minnesota, the number of customers affected in the two states was 54,000.

There are many reports of downed wires and broken tress as a result of the heavy, wet snow. Xcel Energy reminds customers to always assume a downed wire is energized and therefore dangerous. If you ever come across a downed wire, leave the area and contact Xcel Energy at 1-800-895-1999 or 9-1-1. We anticipate having most customers restored to service by tonight, but due to continuing weather factors and hazardous road conditions all customers are not expected to be restored until end of the day Friday, May 3._______ MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- Crews are working to repair electrical lines brought down by the heavy, wet snow that fell across parts of northern Iowa, southeastern Minnesota and western Wisconsin.

Xcel Energy says more than 29,000 of its Minnesota and Wisconsin customers were still without power around midday Thursday. Red Wing, Minn., which got 10 inches, was among the hardest hit area with more than 5,000 customers out. Xcel is urging residents to stay away from downed lines.

Rochester Public Utilities says about 10,000 of its customers lost power Thursday morning, though crews managed to reduce that number to about 2,600 around noon.

And in northern Iowa, more than 5,000 customers of several utilities lost power. The storm dumped nearly a foot of snow in parts of Iowa from Wednesday afternoon through Thursday morning.------------EAU CLAIRE, Wis. (XCEL ENERGY NEWS RELEASE) - A significant storm with heavy, wet snow began early Thursday morning and continues to move through northwestern Wisconsin, impacting approximately 24,000 Xcel Energy electric customers. Xcel Energy has brought in all available crews from areas that were not impacted by the storm and from neighboring utilities to assist in restoration and expects to make significant progress today. At this time, approximately 16,000 customers still remain without service. We anticipate having most customers restored to service by tonight, but due to continuing weather factors and hazardous road conditions all customers are not expected to be restored until end of the day Friday, May 3. The areas most impacted include Menomonie, Spring Valley, Hudson, Amery, Birchwood and Hayward.

Xcel Energy reminds customers to always assume a downed wire is energized and therefore dangerous. If you ever come across a downed line, leave the area immediately and contact Xcel Energy at 1-800-895-1999 or 9-1-1. -------------------------------------EAU CLAIRE, Wis. (WEAU) – Xcel Energy is now reporting more than 10,000 customers without power in Western Wisconsin and Northern Wisconsin.

The company calls this weather event “significant,” and says heavy wet snow from Southeast Minnesota up to Ashland is building up on power lines. It says many lines are downed in Hudson because of the snow. Xcel wants people to avoid downed power lines whenever possible.

Crews from neighboring power companies are being utilized to help restore power. Some are coming from Duluth, MN and La Crosse. Crews plan to work through the night Thursday and into Friday to restore power.

Xcel asks that people give power crews room to do their work.------------------------------------From Xcel Energy: "Crews have been working throughout the early morning hours to fix damages caused by heavy, wet snow across our northwestern Wisconsin serving area including Spring Valley, Menomonie, Hudson, Amery, Rice Lake and Hayward. We have received numerous reports of downed power lines and broken trees in power lines. At this time, 9,700 customers are without service. We are assessing damages and will provide an estimated restoration time as soon as one becomes available. For your safety, please stay away from any downed lines or poles. Thank you for your patience."

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